Have you ever wondered who controls your digital identity online? Or maybe how can we safely prove who we are without risking loss of privacy? Recently, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, raised this important issue. He is concerned that we are getting too carried away with the idea of creating a single digital identity, which could lead to undesirable consequences.
That's what he talked about in his blog, published on June 28, and what should be considered.
ZK technology and its weaknesses
Buterin supports ZK (zero-disclosure) technology, which allows you to verify personal information without disclosing the information itself. Cool, right? For example, you can prove that you are over 18 years old without showing your passport or date of birth. And projects like Worldcoin are already using this technology to create digital identifiers.
But here's the problem. Buterin warns that packaging ordinary identifiers (passports or biometric data) in ZK protocols does not solve all problems. For example, by creating a system where each person is assigned a single identifier, we risk losing an important thing — pseudonymity. This means that all your activities will be tied to one public figure, and this is not always a good thing.
Imagine if you always had to act under the same public name or identity, without being able to hide your activities or be anonymous. As a result, this can lead to the risk of coercion and surveillance of your every move.
Problems with universal identifiers
Buterin also points out the practical difficulties that can arise with government-issued digital identities. For example, what should people without citizenship or those who have lost their biometric data do? And, of course, there is a danger of forgery or manipulation of biometrics, especially in countries with high political risks. In the worst cases, governments can simply "fabricate" identities to weaken decentralized systems.
What is a pluralistic identity?
To avoid these problems, Buterin proposes the concept of pluralistic identity. This is the idea that there is no single dominant authority that issues personal data. Instead, there are different ways to verify identity, and each person can choose which one to use.
There are two approaches:
Explicit pluralistic identity is when trust is built through a community network. For example, in the Circles project, users confirm each other based on shared social connections.
Implicit pluralistic identity is where different methods can be used to verify identity: emails, social media accounts, or even national identifiers.
Buterin is confident that this approach is much more stable, because if one system or form of identification fails or becomes vulnerable, other methods will still be able to confirm the identity.
Why is universal identification not a solution?
The biggest threat arises if one system becomes the only one. If its market share grows, it is no longer a pluralistic system, but a one-person— one-person model. And it can be dangerous. Imagine if you were forced to use only one form of identification for everything from voting to accessing financial services.
In this case, we may lose an important part of our freedom and privacy, as well as face the threat of manipulation and control.
What to do?
Instead of striving to create one universal digital identifier, Buterin calls for support for systems that involve diversity, flexibility, and choice. He believes that this is the only way to preserve privacy and inclusivity in the future, especially in decentralized ecosystems.
A question to ponder
Do you think a pluralistic identity would really be safer than a universal model? And what is important, in your opinion, in matters of privacy and security on the Internet?